Salary Survey September 2008

Annual Marketers Salary Survey
September 2008
FMCG Food an Drinks Sector – Ireland

Key Observations

• This is the second successive year that basic pay increases for marketers has dropped. In our previous survey we saw moderate basic pay increases of 4% to 5%. In the last twelve months our survey has recorded basic salary reviews of just 3% to 4%, which equates to a 25% drop in basic pay reviews in just 12 months – but more alarmingly a 50% plus drop in the annual basic salary review for marketers in the last two years. Employers are keen to keep this trend going forward sighting marketers are reasonably well paid plus downward pressure from senior management to cut costs to the bone, given consumer spending is tightening.
• Bonus Payments: We surveyed bonus payouts for the fiscal year of 2007, which paid out in 2008 and also other dates with fiscal years running say from June 07 to June 08 etc. The majority of 2007 payouts represented good payouts, however later payments have dropped compared to the previous years. Drinks companies have performed well and marketing professionals will maintain healthy payouts. Nearly all bonus payouts are based mainly on the profitability of the company and to a lesser extent on the personal performance of the marketer. Typically a brand manager could be in line for a bonus of up to 10% of their basic salary and a marketing director getting as much as 25%. However it’s a case of two halves – with a large percentage of indigenous branded Irish companies been hit the worst with small to zero payouts been reported or forecasted. The large multinationals have done well in a marketplace but increased costs such as fuel and distribution and labour – all putting pressure on the gross profit margin and hence profitability may have adverse effects for bonus payouts for the fiscal year of 2008, paid out in 2009, across most companies in this sector.
• Car Allowances continue to be the preferred option for both employer and marketer - the average gross car allowance paid to a marketer is €12,000. Most companies in these sectors only offer car allowances to marketers in middle management and above and also to marketers whose job function requires extensive travel such as Trade Marketing or Marketing Activity Management.
• When we asked a sample of the Human Resource managers in the survey did they see any issues with the level of headcount in their marketing departments given present economic uncertainties, the consistent message back was the power of effective branding had considerable influence on sales and market share and thus reinforced marketers place in the food chain and job redundancies in the marketing function seemed very unlikely.
• In summary, the FMCG, Food and Drinks arena in Ireland continues to offer challenging and financially rewarding marketing careers. The large brand owners offer the most financial secure career path with smaller brand owners struggling in face of increased costs and decreased margins from the retail channels, thus paying their marketers below average remuneration packages.
• We asked a cross section of the brand managers in this survey what motivates them to move employer. Once again number one reason on the list was for marketers to broaden their brand experience and work with larger advertising and promotion budgets. Number two was the ability to work on original advertising campaigns. Number 3 was both the location of the firm and the employers approach to flexitime. Career progression was once again the fourth factor and the financial reward only the fifth factor – once again proving marketers in Ireland move for job stimulus over money – a welcome viewpoint on life.

Salary Survery Notes

• Marketing People are happy to present our annual salary survey for marketers employed within the fast moving consumer goods arena and the Foods and Drinks marketplace. The survey, compiled in September 2008, relates specifically to basic salaries on a per annum basis and is presented in three segments: Minimum, average and maximum to reflect the wide range of basic salaries on offer.
• Basic salaries are usually additionally enhanced by performance bonus payments, company car or car allowance and can include an array of benefits such as pension, subsidised healthcare plans, share options/purchase schemes, revenue-approved lunch allowances, club and professional subscriptions, contribution towards further education, free car parking etc.
• The data is compiled from comprehensive range of industry sources including a large selection of multinational and indigenous companies, key industry contacts and supplemented by up-to-date salary and benefit’s data from Marketing People’s extensive marketing candidate database.